Some of you may remember---

[brenda]

I told you about my friend who has had to put her husband of 49 years into care because she can no longer care for him , he has A lzheimers.

We have decided to do a life diary for him , with lots of photos of his family and working life, with a couple of sentences interspersed for explanation.

W e thought this would give him pleasure and also help his carers to know the man behind the illness.

If anyone has any ideas of what else we could add or has done one of these we would be very grateful for any tips or suggestions.TIA ,Sincerely Brenda.

[lucca]

Try to include plenty of stuff about his childhood and young adult years as he may well have good recollection of these - he could even contribute his own memories. I'd also suggest that you contact the Alzheimers Society or look at their website - they have tons of excellent fact-sheets and advice ideas.

[daffy654]

How about adding holiday photos and major event photos such as weddings,christenings etc. Sometimes these events stick in the mind of sufferers much longer than other things and it would be nice if the staff could chat with him about them sometimes.

[AB Editor]

I know often pictures can help us "remember" things we really don't remember at well... a photo from Christmas long ago shows me that the carpet was olive green shag and there was a cat whose name I can't recall... it's almost like it creates a memory where I really don't have one of that time.

I think your life diary is a beautiful idea and even if he doesn't remember the people or events in the pictures, I imagine they will be comforting and familiar to have around.

Best of luck with the project!

Evening Ed

[daffy654]

Smell can also trigger memories,if he has a favourite flower or perfume/cologne/aftershave a small bottle of each may be comforting for him. Also a CD of his favourite songs would be good.

[Charisse2]

Why not record some "soundbites" from people chatting about memories. It is easy enough to do and upload to a disc/memory stick.

P.S. Why is ABEds post not pink?

[brenda]

Thank you all for the ideas , lots to go on there.Will keep you posted on how it turns out. Sincerely .Brenda.

[daffy654]

All the best to your friend and her hubby.I'm sure with a caring friend like you they will have much support.x

[tinkerbell23]

brenda! so nice to hear from you again! hope all is well....lots of my wee residents had old pics up in their room from when they were in navy and things and they could tell you all about it! i think thats a great idea- some had cd players and we would put their fave songs on and sing haha (i would dance :0P )

lots of personal wee ornaments and trinkets were up too- why not make a cd of his faveourite songs to listen too or films- we also used to hav film days - popcorn and treats and stick on an old classic- we had karaokes and get the elvis cd's on and hav a sing song!! once you get by the shock of whats happened - its good to remember that ur friends husband can still have a good life.............much love and luck xx

[ruthann58]

glad to hear thing are going well, hope you friend is feeling more able to cope with him being in the home , photos of parents are good as they seem to remember their mum and dad also their brothers and sisters when young and of course pets, old songs from when he was young all seem to be remembered better then recent events, my mother in law could talk about her brother and sister but did not know who her sons were ,we were walking past a mirror 1 day when she said to me i know her in there ,i went to school with her ,i was never quite sure if she meant me or herself ,i always found it best to answer her as if i knew what she was talking about and never try to tell her otherwise ,they are in their own place in their heads which to them is real so i never saw the need to try and tell any different when other people did she just got confused upset or angry .all the best to your friend do keep in touch. ruth

[brenda]

Again thank you all so much for all your very kind suggestions and bright ideas.My friend was feeling so alone and to be honest I felt that I had few ideas really, but thanks to all the empathetic and caring Abers , I think we are well on our way to doing a good job with the diary.From her , and him and me , the biggest thank you in the world. Sincerely .Brenda.x